Chapter 103

Sykes suppressed his emotions and listened, with what might generously be called patience, to the rambling account of the tall, stout middle-aged man. By the time it concluded, he felt an overwhelming urge to kick him. There wasn’t a shred of useful information in it. It had been a complete waste of his time.

His gaze swept the surroundings impatiently. He noticed that the municipal director’s wife was nowhere to be seen, and Ye Zheng had also vanished.

“Where did that woman and the Saintess go?”

The knight captain, suddenly addressed, looked momentarily stunned. He carefully retraced his memory. “Just now, it seemed the Saintess had something to discuss with that madam. The two of them went upstairs.”

“The situation remains unclear. How could you allow them to wander about freely?”

Sykes’s golden eyes fixed directly upon the tall knight. The knight captain instinctively hunched his shoulders, appearing somewhat wretched. He explained, “The upper floor has already been inspected. That madam is familiar with the premises. It wouldn’t have been appropriate for me to intrude upon the ladies’ affairs.”

The knight captain cautiously lifted his gaze and saw that the Crown Prince’s expression remained dissatisfied. Desperately searching for justification, he hurriedly added, “The documents indicate that madam is an ordinary person without any ability. The Saintess will be safe in her company.”

Sykes finally shifted his oppressive stare. Looking toward the upper floors, he commanded, “Summon them down. I have questions for that woman.”

The director’s wife appeared to be a frail ordinary person, yet for some inexplicable reason, she unsettled him.

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“Was it you who led us here? Why?”

The chaotic distortion of space had conveniently scattered the team of hundreds. The Crown Prince and the Saintess, the two most crucial figures, had likewise been conveniently transported to the very street where their intended destination stood.

The group had swiftly located this municipal building. The survivors awaiting rescue were all influential figures within the municipal office.

It had been too seamless. Ye Zheng didn’t believe in so many coincidences.

The blade formed of water pressed against the woman’s chest. After her initial astonishment, Zhou Yun swiftly regained her composure and answered the girl’s inquiry.

“Why? Naturally, because we require rescue.”

Zhou Yun let out a derisive laugh.

Though doubts crowded Ye Zheng’s heart, her expression remained composed as she continued, “You possess a spatial ability, don’t you?”

“I am not an ability user. I believe the documents state that as well.”

For the first time, Ye Zheng felt a trace of frustration. Zhou Yun hadn’t answered any of her questions directly. Each reply was evasive. More importantly, her demeanor remained relaxed, as though she were engaged in casual conversation with a junior. She didn’t appear to care about the threat against her.

Zhou Yun leaned against a desk. Her hair was tied low, swept to one side of her neck. A long black dress clung tightly to her frame. The exposed skin was pale to the point of bloodlessness. Even her lips were devoid of color, like a specter straying through a monochrome painting.

She inclined her head slightly, yet her eyes lifted upward to meet the taller girl’s gaze. Her pupils were narrow and elongated, the whites of her eyes starkly prominent.

“The six people downstairs are under your control. They fear you.”

Ye Zheng stated calmly.

“What control could there be? They’re all willing. I’m merely an ordinary person without any ability.”

Ye Zheng’s eyes darkened further. She stepped forward. The water blade pierced through fabric and pressed directly against the woman’s skin.

“Madam Zhou, I’m not your enemy. If you truly refuse to answer the previous questions, then I’ll ask only one more.”

“Is your daughter, Yuan Yuan, still here?”

Almost reflexively, Zhou Yun’s lips curved upward. Laughter spilled from her in uneven bursts. The fine lines at the corners of her eyes deepened, sharpening her gaze until it resembled fractured shards of glass.

“You truly shouldn’t have mentioned her, Saintess. Had you not inquired about her, I wouldn’t have brought you upstairs.”

“You also wouldn’t have been the first to die.”

Before her words had fully settled, a piercing shatter tore through the stagnant air. Even the water blade trembling against her chest quivered from the shock.

Ye Zheng’s gaze snapped behind Zhou Yun. A tightly sealed window had exploded outward.

White fog surged in eagerly, spreading throughout the office.

At the same moment, a succession of shattering noises and panicked screams erupted from downstairs.

Her intuition had been correct. Zhou Yun was the manipulator behind the dense fog. And now, she intended to kill her.

Without hesitation, Ye Zheng drove the water blade forward. Her eyes locked upon the woman before her. She had to subdue Zhou Yun before the fog engulfed her.

The blade thrust ahead. Ye Zheng glanced down in astonishment. It had sunk deep into Zhou Yun’s flesh, yet not a single drop of blood emerged.

She lifted her head again. Zhou Yun was smiling at her. The smile grew increasingly indistinct. Soon even her outline blurred, like ink dissolving into water, gradually merging with the white fog pouring in from behind.

Her voice hollowed and receded, thin and distant, like a faint, shrill cry drifting from afar.

“The God's Chosen Saintess who wields the divine sword, the empire’s once-in-five-hundred-years SSS-Class savior, the flawless replica of the God of Hope.”

“Do not be afraid, children. You’ll all perish here, but the entire empire will be laid to rest with you. This is the most perfect ending.”

Zhou Yun’s figure completely dissipated. The surging fog immediately shrieked as it lunged at Ye Zheng.

Ye Zheng swiftly processed every word Zhou Yun had spoken. She realized that mentioning Yuan Yuan had thoroughly enraged her, prompting her to hasten the plan to kill her.

A faint, helpless smile brushed Ye Zheng’s lips. She hadn’t expected that one day she’d capsize because of probing someone’s inner emotions.

There was no time for further reflection. She immediately cloaked her palm with 【Stream】. When the moisture-laden fog touched her hand, it instantly liquefied into droplets. The water then climbed along her body, sheathing her from ankles to neck and face.

The rushing fog engulfed the lone figure in the room. The innermost layer transformed into countless nearly invisible needle points. At the sound of a woman’s faint sigh, innumerable blades formed of fog pierced toward the girl.

The unseen woman sighed again, the sound imbued with inevitable pity, as though lamenting the Saintess’s certain demise in advance.

Having received the Crown Prince’s command, the knight captain ascended to fetch the Saintess and the director’s wife.

He had reached halfway up the stairs when a series of screams erupted below. His scalp prickled as he glanced downward. White fog had flooded the hall, coiling around everyone as though possessed of consciousness.

He tentatively descended a few steps, then instinctively rushed back up. The image of his colleague’s severed body remained vivid in his mind. Uneasily, he reminded himself that his duty was to locate the two ladies. He couldn’t allow them to fall into danger.

The Crown Prince was holding the line below. If even His Highness couldn’t resolve the crisis, descending would be tantamount to suicide.

The tall knight hurried to the third floor and collided headlong with someone. Startled, he nearly drew his sword.

“Don’t panic. Is someone pursuing you?”

At the sound of the girl’s steady voice, the knight captain gasped for breath. He glanced back in alarm. After confirming that no fog had followed, he finally relaxed and looked at the person before him.

He was startled once more.

The girl standing there was drenched from head to toe. Her loose black hair clung around her waist, neck, and face like strands of seaweed. She blinked her dark eyes, and droplets fell from her lashes. She resembled a water spirit rising from the depths, carrying a damp, chilling aura.

“Saintess, what happened? Where is that madam? Are you both safe?”

After a moment, the knight captain recognized that the person before him was indeed the Saintess.

He looked around but saw no sign of the other woman.

“Let us go downstairs first. Madam Zhou is safer than any of us.”

Ye Zheng shook her dripping hand. The corners of her eyes drooped with faint weariness. It was the first time she had appeared so disheveled.

Fortunately, her opponent controlled fog. 【Stream】 could command the moisture within it and neutralize the lethal assault.

But she hadn’t won. In this exchange, she’d lost to Zhou Yun.

Ye Zheng reflected briefly. Ever since learning that this world was a manga, she’d maneuvered behind the scenes, manipulating events and people alike. As she acquired more and more, her actions had grown increasingly fluid.

Yet this time, she’d been manipulated and threatened instead. The other party had left behind a trail of ambiguous words before vanishing. Ye Zheng felt as though she’d been drenched in cold water. In truth, it wasn’t merely a sensation. It was reality.

Ye Zheng walked straight down the staircase. The knight captain trailed closely behind her, anxiously calling out, “My lady, it’s very dangerous down there!”

She ignored him and leapt down the final two steps.

The hall looked as though it had endured a devastating calamity. Tables, chairs, and ornaments lay overturned. Chandeliers had crashed onto the floor. Shards of crystal were strewn everywhere, mingled with bloodstains. At a glance, the once moderately luxurious hall was indistinguishable from ruins. Yet what was even more tragic were the people within it.

Ye Zheng’s gaze swept across the wounded and the dead sprawled upon the ground. Some had been decapitated, some had lost a leg, some were soaked in blood and crying out in agony.

An injured knight caught sight of the Saintess standing at the stairway entrance. His eyes flared with hope as he looked toward the Saintess renowned for healing and compassion.

Yet the Saintess merely passed by him, giving the wounded man a single glance before continuing forward.

Sykes accepted an outer coat from a knight and draped it over himself, concealing the torn undershirt beneath and the exposed bloodstains and flesh.

His expression was exceedingly grim. His jaw trembled faintly with restrained fury. The aggressive fog from earlier had all but toyed with him.

“…Ye Zheng?”

A familiar figure walked past him without even acknowledging him. Sykes’s irritation deepened. He strode forward to catch up with her.

Ye Zheng’s gaze traveled over each injured person lying on the ground, as though searching for something.

Abruptly, she crouched down and seized the collar of a middle-aged man collapsed on the floor.

The man’s attire had once been respectable. Even now, though drenched in blood as if he had rolled through needles, fragments of fine fabric still clung to him.

Standing behind Ye Zheng, Sykes assumed she intended to save him.

The man had only a thread of breath remaining. But if it was Ye Zheng, she might still rescue him. Though she harbored ambitions, she had always fulfilled her duties as Saintess impeccably.

Then Sykes heard her words, and his golden eyes widened in shock.

“My lord, my lord, save me…”

The man’s voice was faint as a filament.

“Listen carefully. What exactly did Zhou Yun instruct you to do? Is she connected to the church’s experiments?”

“Answer me! Only if you answer these questions can you receive salvation!”

Ye Zheng’s tone was almost severe.

All the other municipal office officials had perished in the fog earlier. Only this man retained a single breath.

“She… she told us to cooperate with her and properly receive you all. The experiments… are you referring to… the Hope Plan?”

When the middle-aged man uttered “Hope Plan,” his eyes widened with agitation. A strained whimper escaped his throat. He seemed desperate to continue, yet he lacked the strength. Soon after, his pupils fully dilated, and his body fell motionless.

Ye Zheng released his collar. The corpse lay there, eyes wide open in death.

She turned and silently met Sykes’s stunned gaze.

In that instant, Ye Zheng recalled Zhou Yun’s words before she had vanished.

The God's Chosen Saintess who wields the divine sword, the empire’s once-in-five-hundred-years SSS-CLASS savior, the perfect replica of the God of Hope…

Both the Saintess and the SSS-CLASS were present. One individual remained.